Seasonal
by Jem Doe
Summary: Alina finds Nikolai hiding in a corner, and is about to ask what is he doing when he pulls her closer. Or, alternatively, Nikolai must escape an arranged marriage, and ends up dragging Alina with him.
1. Chapter 1

**Sort of a continuation of Outset, but can be read without reading Ouset first.**

* * *

Alina finds Nikolai hiding in a corner, and is about to ask what is he doing when he pulls her closer (and it's sort of nice, but it does feel like betraying the memory of the dead).

"Sssh, they're going to listen,", he whispers, too close for comfort, and Alina shines a light on his eyes, without stopping to think what she is doing. "That hurts. I _can't_ be a blind, scarred _yet_ handsome king. It's either one or another."

"You wouldn't need to be the blind king as well if you just told me what was going on,", Alina points out, and Nikolai brought her closer (nicer. Still betrayal. She was sure Mal would be foaming at this point.)

"Someone - I'm _almost_ sure I know who - brought in a matchmaker.", the horror in Nikolai's voice is funny, as if a matchmaker is the worse person that could be inside a palace.

"The horror, making sure the king has an heir! What a terrible idea,", Alina snorts. Nikolai shushes her again, squinting his eyes to see out of the corner they're hiding on.

"If you just married me, I wouldn't have to do this,", he hissed. Alina took pity on him and looked outside, seeing that yes, there were two men looking for him. "Please. Please save me from meeting girls all day."

Alina laughs - Nikolai, afraid of meeting girls? Now _that_ was new - and he glares at her, bringing her closer, somehow (he's oddly warm, she finds).

"I'm afraid I'd pay to see it, _moi tsarevich,_ ", she told him, laughing as silently as she could. Laughs weren't a common thing for them, not anymore.

(Mal, Aleksander. Too many important deaths to leave space for laughter.)

"Don't be cruel, Alina,", he whispered, eyes still not wholly focused. Maybe she'd been too harsh, but it was still fun, to her. "Please. At least help me swindle them."

"As in…?", Alina could already see she'd come to regret whatever was going to come out of his mouth by the way he was smiling.

"Pretend we're courting.", the sharp coldness of the autumn air hit her nose like a punch, if the way Alina sharply inhaled was anything to go by.

"That sounds suspiciously like a marriage proposal,", Alina rebuffed, stepping back. Nikolai laughed. "Is it?"

"Listen, Alina, I just need you to go walk around with me, maybe dine…", he shrugged, and, well - that sounded like the stuff they already did together. She looked at him through narrowed eyes. "It's just going to get a more formal title, and also, it's only going to last until they're gone."

Alina nodded. That sounded… Oddly reasonable.

"Fine. Should we…?", she made a vague gesture to the outside, and Nikolai, blinking quickly, nodded. Alina offered him an arm, however, after he stumbled a step. "Sorry about that."

"Oh, no, don't worry. Had you said no, it'd at least give me an excuse to not go to any meetings,", Nikolai hummed, seemingly too satisfied with this turn of events. Alina took a deep breath, and stepped into the hall with him.

Two men - one clearly a diplomat or some other sort of noble, as if Alina would know - looked at them, frowning, and Nikolai offered one of his dazzling smiles.

"Hello there, gentlemen.", he greeted, and the two of them bowed. They kept their walk, and started giggling like children as soon as they were out of earshot. Perhaps this could work, Alina reasoned, looking to Nikolai.


	2. Chapter 2

"What does courting even mean?", Alina asked, one day, having lunch with Nikolai, who looked at her, confused. "I've read etiquette books, don't look to me as if I'm a simpleton."

"Then, your question is…?", Nikolai asked, seemingly amused. She blinded him once more. "My eyes!"

"Yes, they are yours,", Alina replied, and bit, satisfied, into the piece of meat pie she had been eating. Nikolai mock-glared at her. "What? At least you won't see your council of nobles."

"I wish you'd be able to make me not listen to them, either.", Nikolai blindly tried to stab his food, and Alina gently moved his hand to the plate. Alina really wanted to know how he kept his gloves so pristine. "I understand that yes, what they speak is important, but I wish it was fewer pleasantries and more skipping to the point."

Alina laughed.

"As if you don't enjoy going through their pleasantries one by one until you can see their eyes pleading for mercy?", she joked, and the fox-like smiled that was offered back told her enough.

"The naps are nice, too, since the room is warm,", he hummed. "Back to your question, what does courting mean?"

"It's my question, don't expect me to answer.", Alina shrugged. "I'd have to guess it is mostly the two in courtship talking? Like… Like we do, actually."

Nikolai blindly stabs a piece of lettuce, and Alina frowns. Had she accidentally been courting him the entire time? That'd be hard to explain.

"Good explanation, but there's also gift-giving.", he used the fork to point in her general direction, and Alina corrected his course slightly. "I could give you whatever you wanted, you know. Horses. A palace. Five minutes of freedom from me."

 _Give me Mal back,_ Alina thinks, bitterly, happy for once she had blinded Nikolai so he won't be able to see her expression, _give me Aleksander back. Give me my life, before all of this._

"What uses do I have for horses and a palace?", Alina asks, and Nikolai shrugs. "Nice try, although."

"How about a kiss?", he asked, and Alina freezes. Would it be sort of nice? Yes. Would it also be betraying the memory of Mal? Also yes.

"I'm going to blind you,", Alina says, playing with her food, all appetite lost, looking outside. The world was all white, frozen in time with snow, and it looked almost like a painting.

"You can't blind a blind man.", is Nikolai's smug answer, and Alina laughs. "Ah, there it is."

"What?", she asks, still half-laughing. Nikolai simply smiles, as if dazzled by her. Yeah, _as if._

(wasn't he before, although? Didn't he look at her like she was the sun?)

(...)

(she _was_ the sun.)

"You can still laugh. That's a gift for me,", he winked, and Alina sighs softly, thankful for having blinded Nikolai earlier in the conversation - so he wouldn't see the soft blush that tints her cheeks.

"Eat your lunch, Nikolai,", she replies, and he smirks, as if seeing her.


	3. Chapter 3

There was a ball, and there were also rumors their courtship is fake - which it was, but no one could know-, and that was why Alina is dancing with Nikolai. There were rumors, as Nikolai was telling her, way too close for comfort, and Alina could feel eyes on them. Well, of course there'd be, but still.

"So, let me see. People think we are faking a courtship because we haven't set up a marriage date yet?", she asks, and Nikolai hums an affirmation. "That's absolutely stupid."

"That's court life.", Nikolai replies, spinning her for a second. "Sadly, I'd say we both signed up for it."

"We really should've faked our deaths, then,", Alina decides, and Nikolai laughs. More looks are thrown in their direction, and Alina feels all of them against her skin, as warm as the spring sun. "No, really."

"Oh, yes. I could be Sturmhond, and you could be... My beautiful, sun touched crew mate.", Nikolai says, and Alina politely pretends he isn't Sturmhond on occasion. It's none of her business. "You'd have this odd power to make ships invisible, but only during the day."

"Because that wouldn't raise any suspicions, right.", Alina says, caustic as she can be. "At night, all ships are invisible, so therefore I'm useless?"

"No, at night you're tired, so you rest with me,", Nikolai hums, and Alina glares at him. "What, do you want to sleep in the crew's quarters?"

"I wish you'd shut up,", she sighs, and regrets it when she notices the way Nikolai grins.

"Shut me up, if you so wish.", and Alina, who has had _enough_ with court rumors and Nikolai, kissed him softly. He is so flabbergasted by it that he missteps the dance, and Alina, separating from him for a moment, has her turn to grin. "I'll be honest and say that, while I expected this, I did not expect it."

"Good,", Alina replies, noticing that whispers grew in the background. "Hey, want to kiss me again and make a run for it?"

"How scandalous,", Nikolai says, kissing her once more, and it was Alina's turn to be flustered."I'm in."

He grabs her hand, quitting midway through the dance, pretending they didn't hear the growing wave of whispers, and go for the garden, the sweet smell of blooming flowers making Alina dizzy.

"That was fun,", he says, with the most sincere smile Alina has seen him put on recently, and she holds his gloved hand just a little bit tighter. No one needed to know if her heart beat a little bit faster for Nikolai, right?

"A lot. Want to do it again?", Alina asks, and bites her tongue when she thinks about repercussions - and she is not the only one, for Nikolai stops in his steps, looking at her.

"Maybe. Do you?", he asks, slowly, and Alina - Alina does not think of what she has lost so far - and nods. He kisses her once more, and Alina allows it, feeling as if she could shine as bright as the sun.


	4. Chapter 4

"Will you marry me?", Nikolai asks, one summer morning, the heat already making Alina wonder if she can deviate the light away from her to create a cool shade.

She stares at Nikolai in disbelief, the emerald ring clear as day between their breakfasts, and looks at him.

"That question again?", she asks, and Nikolai nods. Alina grabs the ring for a second, analyzing it.

It's pretty, she cannot say that it isn't. But it is not her - she is not an emerald ring, more fit for a queen than whatever Alina is. Sol koroleva, her mind chants, but she does not deserve the title - she is the sun, but Alina doesn't think she shines as bright as she should, as the sun does.

"We've been courting. Marriage is the next step.", Nikolai says, matter-of-fact, and Alina stares at the ring again.

Could she do marriage and whatever is asked of her? Could she be a queen? The ring seemed to glint under the sunlight.

Could she be a queen?

"Alright,", Alina says, and Nikolai chokes on his tea. She laughs. "That's not very kingly."

"It's not very queenly to try and murder the king,", Nikolai says, eyes huge.

"Did you think I'd never give an answer?", Alina asked, purposefully putting her elbows on the table. "I mean, is like you said. We are courting, shouldn't we just marry?"

Nikolai stared at her for a second.

"Besides, there'd be worse marriage options,", Alina continues. "I mean, you're you. What else could I ask for?"

Mal was unspoken between them, and Nikolai was polite enough not to mention. Alina rose up, approaching Nikolai slowly, touching his hands, putting the ring in his palm and closing his fingers. Nikolai looked up at her, and Alina used the moment to kiss him. He seemed surprised, if only for a second, but kissed her back.

Alina didn't notice when he slipped the ring on her finger, and when they separated, he smirked.

"We could have done worse,", he says, and the laugh that comes out of Alina's mouth is unfamiliar.

Does she love him? Probably. Alina does not know. Does she not love him? No. It's enough, for now.

"Definitely.", she answers.


End file.
